Self Help
by Beetlebum101
Summary: Rosalie Hale is a frustrated barmaid with anger management issues. How will her life change after she meets a tall, handsome stranger and his group of bizarre friends on a night out? AH
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Originally, this was going to be a one-shot but while i was writing it, i changed my mind and it is now going to be a multi-chapter fic. I'd love to know what you think of this first chapter; reviews are always welcome :)**

* * *

**Chapter One**

_One… Two… Three…_

"Hey, beautiful!" The sweaty, dark haired man bellowed over the bar in my general direction. "Three Jack and Coke's!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to keep calm.

_Four… Five… Six…_

I had a fiery temper at the best of times but when I was in this place, my already short fuse became even shorter. After fixing my gaze back to my current order, I tried my best to ignore everything else going on around me. _Vodka and OJ… rum and Coke… bottle of–_

"HEY!" The obnoxious patron repeated even louder, smacking his hand onto the bar top. "I said, three Jack and Coke's!"

"In a minute!" I growled back, yelling over the repetitive, pounding beat of the music that made every one of my internal organs vibrate. _I wonder how long I can listen to this shit before my brain starts dribbling out of my ears._

I slid a handful of drinks along the polished wood towards my current customer and took the money from his hand, turning towards the cash register.

"Yo, Blondie! I want three Jack and Coke's and I want them–"

I spun around on the ball of my foot and slammed the change onto the bar, before turning my attention to the young man who had just put the cherry on top of my shitty night.

Counting to ten slowly just didn't seem to work anymore.

"Listen to me, asshole!" I shouted, my inner bitch finally being unleashed. "If you don't shut the fuck up, I swear to God, I'm going to trail you across this bar and–"

"HALE!"

_Fuck_.

Felix, the bar manager, strutted his way towards me, finally positioning himself at my shoulder and peering down at me. _Why does he always have to stand so close to me? _

"Is there a problem?" My boss questioned, before tilting his head towards the troublesome customer.

"Dude, all I want is three Jack and Coke's," he slurred out. Felix didn't say a word, as he swung around to the optics, lifting three highball glasses in the process.

"Rosalie, what have I told you? The customer is always right," the large man shouted over the din, his attention focused solely on the Jack Daniels bottle.

"Felix, he was shouting at me over the bar while I was serving someone else. What do you expect me to do?" I answered, resting my hands on my hips, defiantly.

"I expect you to keep that temper of yours in check!" He barked at me, finally turning his head to face me. I had to bite the inside of my mouth to stop myself from arguing back. Every damn weekend we had a different version of the same argument and I was sick to death of it.

"Whatever," I mumbled, my hands still on my hips.

"Don't make me fire you, Rosalie. You're a good barmaid," Felix finished, in a slightly less harsh tone, serving the drinks to the jerk who started this whole thing in the first place and taking money from him. As the guy was waiting for his change, I noticed his line of sight had shifted to my chest and my brow furrowed. Instinctively, my head lowered and I noticed that the first three buttons of my uniform shirt had come undone, exposing my cleavage to the entire nightclub. I glanced towards Mr. Three-Jack-and-Coke's again and saw a perverted smirk spread across his face. I rolled my eyes, before turning away and refastening them, reclaiming my dignity in the process. _Can this night get any worse?_

"Four Sex On The Beach!" A tiny girl with spiky, black hair suddenly shouted from her position near the hatch, staring straight at me and wobbling slightly. _Four? You've got to be kidding me_.

I made my way towards the miniscule young woman and noticed (thankfully) that she wasn't alone. She was being held around the waist by a man with sandy coloured hair and I'm pretty sure he was the only reason she wasn't lying on the floor right now.

"Alice!" Someone yelled. A female someone. I inclined my head to the left and saw another girl with long, chestnut hair pawing at the pixie girl's arm, with a glazed look on her face. "No more cocktails! You're drunk!" _Hmm, you're not far behind her, sweetheart, _I thought to myself.

"No, I'm not!" This 'Alice' rebuked, slurring her words slightly, before her knees seemed to give way beneath her and she grabbed the front of the bar to steady herself.

A booming laugh sounded from the other side of the sandy haired man and I noticed for the first time a fourth person in their group. A male person. He was built like a tank and had short, dark curly hair. His brown eyes twinkled with mirth and a childlike grin was plastered across his face. He was wearing an open, dark blue shirt over a black t-shirt and it wasn't difficult to make out the muscles beneath his clothes.

_Hello, sexy stranger._

"I think it's time to switch to kiddie drinks, Ali," the handsome, burly man said, still chortling to himself before turning his attention to me. "Hi there," he greeted, giving me a toothy smile. "Forget the Sex On The Beach. Just three beers and an OJ will be fine."

"Oh, my God!" The chestnut haired girl suddenly exclaimed. "Is that Gwen Stefani?" She finished, sounding beside herself with glee, before wandering off.

"Bella!" Alice shrieked out, calling after her friend and dragging her male companion away from the bar to follow her.

"Uh…" My curly haired customer began after a moment, staring after the rest of his party and scratching the back of his head. "Better make that two beers and two OJ's."

I couldn't help but laugh, despite my mood, and he gave me a lopsided grin. "No problem," I uttered sincerely, purposely swinging my hips as I ambled towards the fridges to retrieve two beers. I could feel his eyes on me and I deliberately took my time bending down to the bottom shelf. Discreetly, I stole a glance behind me and saw my favourite customer of the night staring unabashedly at my ass. I smiled to myself. _Maybe tonight isn't such a bad night after all._

"Two beers and two OJ's," I confirmed, placing said drinks in front of him. "Hey, what's your–"

"Alice, I'm sorry!" A drunken voice bellowed. "I swear to God, it looked like Gwen Stefani!"

The brown haired girl (Bella, was it?) had returned to the bar, trailing after Alice, profusely slurring and stumbling over an apology. "Jasper, tell her I'm sorry!" She frantically pleaded with the sandy haired male, who was still clinging to Alice as if his life depended on it. The tiny girl was standing with her back to the brunette, her arms folded across her chest.

"Ali," the mysterious 'Jasper' said, getting her attention. "You know Bella would never intentionally lie to you about Gwen Stefani." Alice seemed to think about that for a moment, before twirling around and flinging herself at Bella, enveloping her in a tight embrace.

"Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry! I should never have doubted you!" the tiny girl squealed, unbelievably loudly. "That guy did kinda look like her, didn't he?"

Bella pulled back and stared at Alice, trying valiantly to focus on her face. "He really did!" She said, with a ridiculously serious look on her face.

"Oh, Bella, you're my best friend. I love you!" Alice shouted, pulling Bella back to her, now with tears in her eyes.

"I love you too, Alice!"

_Sweet Jesus…_

I rolled my eyes at the pair of them. It was moments like this that made me remember why I didn't drink.

"Emmett," the giant man announced, pulling me from my thoughts. I stared at him with what I imagined was a blank stare and he just grinned at me. "My name is Emmett," he clarified.

"Rosalie," I replied, leaning across the bar top and flashing my pearly whites, confidently. That was far from what I was feeling inside, though. Years and years of practice had given me an almost bullet proof shield when it came to meeting new people. I could talk the talk _and_ walk the walk; the result being that there were very few people who truly knew the real me.

"You seem to be having a bad night," Emmett said, sitting down on one of the stools and leaning closer so I could hear him better.

"You've been watching me?" I asked with a smirk and an arched eyebrow.

"If I said 'yes,' would you think I was a perv?" He responded, not sounding ashamed in the slightest. I repositioned myself so that my chest was now at his eye level. Almost instantly, his gaze dropped from my face and he made no attempt to hide his shameless ogling.

"If I said 'no,' would you think _I_ was a perv?"

"HALE!" Felix's voice rang out over the sound of the thumping music and a quiet growl escaped my throat. _I think I might actually kill him._

Emmett leaned to one side and stared past me at Felix. "The boss?" He questioned.

"For now," I answered, flirtatiously. "I guess I'll see you around?"

"Oh, my God, Bella! I LOVE this song!" Alice's high pitched, drunken voice erupted over the din, effectively stopping any response Emmett may have had. The burly man in front of me gave a boyish chortle, before standing up off the stool and reaching into his pocket. He proceeded to pull out a wad of cash and handed me over more than enough to pay for his drinks.

"Keep the change, beautiful," he said, with a wink. "And, yeah, I'll be around."

With that, he grabbed the four drinks in his large hands and rejoined his friends. My gaze lingered on him for a moment as I watched him distribute the beverages. He demonstrated lightning fast reflexes, catching Bella before she hit the floor, apparently having tripped over her own feet. Jasper leaned in towards him and said something into his ear which warranted a booming laugh and I couldn't stop the smile that crept over my own face. _What a bizarre bunch of friends._

"HALE! I'm not paying you to stand around staring into space!" Felix bellowed, yet again, and I clenched my jaw while simultaneously balling my hand into a fist by my side. _Deep breaths… deep breaths…_

I calmed myself down and ran my fingers through my long blonde tresses, before making my way towards another needy patron. "Hey, what can I get you?"

* * *

"'Night, Rose," one of my co-workers called over her shoulder as we both left the club later that night, our shift finally over.

"See you tomorrow, Tanya," I muttered, searching through my bottomless pit of a purse for my car keys. Finding them, I clasped the cold metal in my hand and began the short trek to my car. As I walked, I passed a sizeable puddle of orange coloured vomit. _That's just lovely_, I thought to myself, screwing up my face.

"Alice, for God's sake, get off the ground!" I heard a familiar male voice suddenly shout, sounding completely exasperated. "Where's your other shoe?"

My brow furrowed and I looked around me. I could hear him, but I couldn't see him. There was a small alleyway several paces in front of me and I sauntered forward to see if that's where the voice was coming from. I cautiously craned my neck, peering into the entry, just in case it wasn't Emmett and was in fact a crazed psychopath, ready to chop my head off with a meat cleaver. To my relief, it _was_ Emmett… and Bella and Alice and Jasper. _What are they doing out here? _The two men were towering over Alice and Bella, who were both sprawled on the ground.

"Emmett?" I queried. His head whipped around, as did everyone else's.

"Hey, it's Rhonda!" Alice squealed out. "Bella, look, it's Rhonda," she repeated, nudging her friend, who looked like she was about to fall asleep. "Hey, have you seen my other shoe?" She asked me with sad eyes, waving her one and only silver stiletto heel at me.

…_Did she just call me 'Rhonda'?_

Completely ignoring her, I turned my attention back to Emmett. "What are you all doing out here? You left the club ages ago."

"Yes, well, when we finally managed to get a cab to come pick us up, _someone_ puked right outside the passenger side door and he refused to take us home, just in case _someone_ did it again," Emmett explained, sounding bitter and eyeing Alice resentfully. _So that was her vomit I just walked past, then…_

"Rhonda, can you take me home? I need to pee," Bella piped up for the first time, sounding like she was about to cry. _Is she being serious?_

"Okay, first of all, my name is _Rosalie_," I snapped at the brunette. "Second, why would I take you home? I don't even know you."

"But, I need to pee!" She whined, as if no other reason was necessary, before resting her head against her tiny friend's shoulder. I rolled my eyes at the display and folded my arms across my chest. I focused my attention back to Emmett, as Jasper bent down and tried to drag Alice up off the filthy ground ("Hey! Stop manhandling me!")

"How _are_ you guys going to get home?" I asked, seriously. The large man ran both hands through his dark curls and exhaled loudly.

"I have no idea," he simply stated. "I can't get hold of another cab." He let his hands fall by his sides, almost as a sign of defeat, and his eyes immediately sought out Bella and Alice. Both were still sitting on the ground in a very unladylike manner and I knew that Emmett's concern was for them, not himself or Jasper. Every time Jasper went near Alice she swatted at him, as if he were nothing more than a troublesome fly.

I was faced with a dilemma here: to display my usual harsh exterior and simply walk away, or be a decent human being for once and offer a helping hand. Every natural instinct I had was telling me to say goodnight and wish them all the best while I went on my merry way. Normally I would do that, and do it without a second thought. But there was something about these people. There was something about Emmett. I felt emotionally conflicted, which wasn't a common occurrence.

"I can give you a ride," I blurted out, before I knew I had even made a decision. Emmett's head swung round and in my peripheral vision I saw Jasper turn his attention towards me as well. Emmett's eyes darted around, almost as if he was checking that it was actually me who had spoken.

"Really?" He asked with an incredulous tone and a raised eyebrow, his lip twitching slightly. _Is he making fun of me? _I felt a familiar injection of fury shoot through my body – a fury which comprised of defensiveness, insecurity, embarrassment and good old fashioned anger. Despite all those emotions, the only one that ever felt okay to show on the outside was the anger.

"Look, if you don't want my help, fine. Good luck getting home," I barked out, hitching my purse further up my shoulder and turning on my heel. Before I had taken more than two steps, another masculine voice echoed off the brick walls of the alleyway. A much gentler voice.

"Forgive my friend," Jasper began. "He can be surprisingly thick-headed at times." I don't know why, but his words made me stop and face him. Even from the short distance between us I could see his kind, watery blue eyes and for some reason I gradually felt my anger being swept away, like grains of sand from the shore line. Emmett cleared his throat, effectively drawing my attention towards him again.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "It's just…" His mouth opened and closed several times, with no words coming out. As much as I wanted to scowl at him, I couldn't. A traitorous smirk was pulling at my lips and I couldn't fight it. He noticed and his gaze shifted to the ground while he scratched the back of his head. "We'd be very grateful if you brought us home," he finished, glancing at me from under his eyelashes.

Our eyes met for a moment before I shook my head at his actions. _Well played, Mr. Emmett_. "My car is just around the corner." He beamed back at me and immediately made a bee-line for Bella, who had actually fallen asleep on Alice's shoulder. Alice herself seemed deep in thought.

"I know I had two shoes when we left the house earlier," she murmured to herself, gesturing to both of her tiny bare feet. "Do you think I could have left it in the bathroom?" Alice's head turned to look at Bella, obviously expecting an answer from her unconscious friend. "Bella? BELLA!"

"Mmargh," Bella growled out, still appearing to be asleep.

"Bells," Emmett said, leaning down and gently hitting her leg to rouse her. Still no intelligent response. Wanting to leave this disgusting alleyway at some point this night, I tried my own approach:

"HEY!" I roared. Bella jerked awake, kicking Alice in the process, which the tiny girl herself didn't seem to notice – she was far too busy with the drunken philosophy of her missing shoe. I could almost see the cogs in Bella's brain working as she slowly pieced together what was going on around her. "You want a ride or not?" I finished, curtly.

"You're taking us home?" The chestnut-haired girl questioned slowly. I nodded with what I am sure was an impatient look. Bella's face lit up. "Alice! Come on, Rhonda's taking us home!" She exclaimed fumbling her way to her feet, suddenly bright eyed. Alice was pulled haphazardly to her feet as well and an endearing smile spread across her face.

"Really? You're the best Rhonda!" The dazed looking pixie girl announced, before throwing her arms around me and enveloping me in a hug. "How can we ever thank you?" She mumbled into my hair, as I stiffened and my arms lay rigid by my sides, not even contemplating hugging her back. I eventually raised my hands to her shoulders and pushed her away from my body, but it didn't seem to stop the joyous smile on her face.

"Well, you can stop calling me Rhonda for a start. My name is Ros-a-lie," I stated, enunciating the three syllables in my name very deliberately. Alice's brow furrowed, as if I had just asked her to tell me the square root of pi. Finally realising that my attempts to get her (and Bella) to use my actual name were futile, I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Look, just promise you won't throw up in my car, okay?"

"You got it, Rhonda," Alice responded with a salute, before beaming at me again. Her demeanour suddenly became serious and she grabbed onto my wrist. "Hey, have you seen my other shoe?"

"Okay, Ali, let's go," Jasper gently commanded, suddenly jumping into the conversation and slipping his arm around Alice's waist. Perhaps he could sense that my patience with this situation was wearing very thin, or perhaps he just wanted to get home. Either way, I took that as my cue to lead the way to the car. Before I turned to leave, I saw Emmett wrap a giant arm around Bella, obviously trying to ensure that she wouldn't fall over as she walked. The sight made me feel annoyed; and even though I knew it was quite unjustifiable, I felt a rush of resentment towards the brunette. _Are they together?_

Doing my best to shake those thoughts away, I once again hitched my purse higher up my shoulder and walked out of the alleyway, as gracefully as my unflattering work uniform would let me.

"Remember what I said," I warned Alice, turning to her when we reached my red Mercedes and pointing my key at her. "If you throw up in my car, I'm going to pull over and leave you at the side of the road," I finished, cocking an eyebrow.

"I'll be good, I promise," she replied, already clambering into the back seat. "Jeez, why are you so cranky?" I distinctly heard her mumble, probably thinking that I couldn't hear her.

It took several minutes to get everyone into the car, thanks mostly to the scuffle that broke out between Bella and Alice as to who would have to sit in the middle. Jasper, ever the gentleman, brought the dispute to an end by sitting there himself, leaving Emmett to sit in the passenger seat beside me.

"So, who am I dropping off first?" I asked exhaling loudly, wanting this night to be over already.

"Actually, we all live together," Jasper announced from behind me. My eyebrows rose and I looked into my rear-view mirror, meeting his gaze.

"You're kidding, right?"

Jasper's forehead furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"All of you live together? As in, living in the same house? Together?" I questioned, my voice sounding more incredulous by the second. Just the mental image of these four seemingly mismatched people living together made a smirk appear on my face.

"Why is that so funny?" Emmett butted in, bringing my attention to him. There was a peculiar expression on his face – like he was half annoyed and half fascinated by what I had just said. I had never lived with anyone else and the older I got, the more absurd the idea of living with another human being became to me. Did people do it out of some sense of loyalty? Or was it more a question of people desperately trying to make themselves feel less lonely? Loneliness was never a problem for me; I liked being alone. That's what I kept telling myself, anyway.

"I don't know. I just can't understand how so many people can live in one house. I'm not really one for company," I said as a reply, sweeping my hair over my shoulders and putting my key in the ignition.

"You're not a people person, huh? Well, there's a shocker," Emmett announced sarcastically, while putting his seatbelt on. He proceeded to turn his whole body in my direction, his back against the door, and just stared at me for a moment. "How the hell did someone like you end up working in that club? And afford a sweet ride like this?" He asked, sounding genuinely interested.

I felt my anger bubbling up inside me again as I gripped the steering wheel harder and looked out of the windshield, trying to calm down. _Someone like me… You don't even know me…_

"Can you just tell me where to go, so I can go home?" I spoke slowly, leaving him in no doubt that the topic was not up for discussion. In my peripheral vision I saw his face fall and he shifted himself so he was sitting in the seat properly.

"Just get to the hardware store and I'll direct you from there." Emmett's voice was low and he sounded almost hurt. I almost felt bad. Almost.

The five of us sat in relative silence for a few minutes, broken only when Alice saw a cat dart across the road. ("Hello, kitty!") But it was Bella who instigated another conversation.

"Rhonda, can we stop for food?" She asked in a would-be innocent voice, as she gripped both sides of my seat. "I'm hungry and I really need to pee." _This girl really does know how to piss me off._

"Tough," I barked out. "We're not stopping."

"Come on! Pleeease?" She whined like a petulant child, completely undeterred. I became aware of Emmett shifting uncomfortably in the seat beside me and he cautiously cleared his throat.

"Um… actually, _can_ we stop?" He asked, tentatively. "I'm starving as well."

"Yeah, me too," Jasper added, popping his head through the space between our seats. _This is unbelievable. Do these people think I'm a cab driver?_

The longer this car journey went on, the more I wished I had just left them all in that damn alleyway. The one time my conscience tells me to help out my fellow man, this is what I get? Two ditsy cheerleaders, a mysterious gentleman and a handsome bodybuilder? An ironic laugh escaped me as I assessed the situation I had found myself in.

"You know what? Sure, fine, whatever," I said in a rush, giving in to the situation. "We might as well make this night even more ridiculous than it already is."

Bella let out a whoop of delight and settled herself comfortably back into my leather interior, and a glance in my rear-view mirror told me that Alice was sitting with her face pressed against the window, possibly looking for more 'kitties.'

"Thank you," Emmett muttered from beside me. I glanced at him and saw that he had lowered his head and was looking at me from under his eyelashes, just like he had done back in the alleyway. He looked like a schoolboy who had been told off for not doing his homework. Again, if it was anyone else, I would have produced my best scowl and left him cowering in the corner. But, just like before, I couldn't help the smirk that was pulling at the corner of my lips.

"You're buying me fries," I informed him, matter-of-factly.

Chancing another glance at him, I saw an impish grin spread across his face and his eyes instantly lit up. I couldn't help but throw a genuine smile back to him.

"I think I can manage that… _Rhonda_," he chuckled in response, making me give a small laugh too.

* * *

"Alice, I thought you said you weren't hungry?" I heard Emmett utter at the counter, as I sat at a wobbly (not to mention ketchup encrusted) table.

"Well, now I'm hungry and I want a cheese burger!" The tiny girl squeaked, stamping one of her still bare feet and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Okay, okay," Emmett sighed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Could you please add a cheese burger to that order?"

The middle-aged woman behind the counter smiled good-naturedly as she scribbled something on her notepad, obviously used to drunken customers at this time of night.

It was just after 3am but despite the late hour, we weren't the only people there. Some distance away to my right sat a young man who looked so tired I was just waiting for him to fall face-first into his food. To my left sat a slightly older man wearing a high visibility jacket, reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. _What's his deal?_ I wondered, fleetingly. I was distracted from my people watching when I saw Bella returning from the bathroom, which was situated towards the back of the diner. She was trying so hard to appear sober that she didn't see the low table straight in front of her, and therefore, walked right into it. A laugh burst from my mouth. As much as she annoyed me, Bella sure had comedy value.

"It's hard to imagine how she survives day-to-day with those two left feet, isn't it?" Jasper said in a soft, joking voice as he slid into the chair opposite me. I had almost forgotten he was here with the rest of us, since he wasn't chattering incessantly.

"Indeed," I replied, still watching Bella as she made her way towards Alice and Emmett at the counter. My eyes instantly became drawn to Emmett's tall and muscular physique, just like they had been back at the club, and I couldn't help but take in every inch of him, from the dark curls on his head, to the soles of his big black boots. I saw him rest a large hand on Bella's shoulder when she finally reached him and I felt my eyebrows furrow.

"She's his sister," I heard Jasper say.

"Huh?" I replied, cursing myself for sounding so moronic, as I turned my attention fully to him.

"Bella," he clarified. "She's Emmett's little sister."

The wave of relief that washed over me was enough to make me exhale and sit back in my chair. I returned my gaze to Emmett, who was now handing Alice what I assumed was her cheeseburger. I was aware of Jasper looking at me but it wasn't a mocking look, simply a look of interest. He didn't say another word, just turned and watched as his three friends approached our table with armfuls of food.

"Fries, for the kind barmaid," Emmett announced, his face splitting into a grin as he lowered them to the table.

"About damn time," I responded, with a smirk on my face.

"Jazz!" Alice shouted in our general direction. She and Bella had sat themselves down at a table beside the window and Alice obviously wanted Jasper to join them. "Come here! We want to see if the kitty followed us to the diner!" She was beaming from ear to ear and practically bouncing in her seat. Jasper raised an eyebrow at Emmett and I, before rising from his seat and making his way over to the girls' table. Emmett took Jasper's vacated seat, so we were now sitting opposite each other, alone at the table.

"Ali loves cats," Emmett offered by way of an explanation, as he lifted a mammoth sized burger to his mouth and began munching. I stared at the tiny girl.

"Is she always so… hyper?"

His face split into an impish grin and he chortled. "Yeah, pretty much. I'd say only about 10% of that is the alcohol," he said, cocking his head in her direction. "She just got a new job. Some fashion thing, I don't know exactly what. We were out celebrating tonight."

As he finished speaking I noticed a dollop of tomato ketchup on the side of his mouth and I couldn't hold back a laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Emmett questioned, looking confused and utterly ridiculous. I shook my head and tossed a napkin towards him.

"Wipe your mouth."

He rolled his eyes at me but did grin slightly as he lifted the napkin to his lips and wiped vigorously, not unlike a child. "All better?" He asked, now with a beaming smile.

My focus was uncontrollably and inexplicably drawn to his deep brown eyes for the first time since we'd arrived at the diner. There was something so trusting and oddly innocent, even vulnerable, in those eyes. He wasn't like anyone I had ever met before. Nobody had ever intrigued me like that before. _Jesus, Rosalie, stop staring!_ I berated myself.

"Yeah, I can look at you without laughing now," I replied, very aware of the fact that I wasn't looking at him at all anymore. We sat in silence for a few moments as I played with my fries and he continued to devour his enormous burger.

"So, anyway," Emmett began again, obviously not liking silence. "Tell me something about yourself." I was slightly taken aback by his very direct inquiry. I don't think I had ever been asked that question in my entire life. People knew better than to ask me questions like that.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not really knowing what else to say.

I saw an eyebrow creep up his forehead. "You know, I tell you something about me, you tell me something about you... It's called a conversation."

_Cheeky bastard…_

… _I'm liking him more and more._

"If you want to know something, ask me." My statement came out a lot more challenging than it sounded in my head.

"Where are you from?" He asked, not missing a beat.

"Chicago."

Silence.

"Any siblings?" He jumped in again.

"No."

Silence.

He placed what remained of his burger on the table and seemed to be searching my face with his big brown eyes. He nodded slowly. "Okay. What about your parents? Where are they?"

And there it was; the topic of conversation I hated above all others. Why is everyone always so goddamn interested in people's parentage? It's always worse when you have absolutely nothing meaningful to say about either of them. "My mother died when I was a child. And my father…"

_Deep breath…. One… Two… Three…_

"… Last I heard he was in Europe somewhere."

"Oh? What does he do there?" Emmett chirped enthusiastically, oblivious to the suppressed rage bubbling and burning just under the surface of my skin. I was going to lash out if I didn't end this conversation. I could feel it.

"Look, can we talk about something else?" I barked out, harshly. "Please?" I added, thinking it might soften the tone. I glanced at Emmett as I spoke and he didn't have that same hurt puppy look he had when I went off on him in the car earlier. Instead, his brow furrowed and the only emotion I could see on his face was concern. Concern for me. _What the hell? That can't be right…_

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you," he spoke softly, not taking his eyes off me. "I just want to–"

Before I could find out what he was going to say, the door of the diner swung open and in walked Mr. Three-Jack-and-Coke's from the club earlier looking, if possible, even more inebriated than he did a couple of hours ago. _Absolutely fantastic. This is, hands down, the weirdest night of my life_. I watched as he swayed on the spot and tried to focus on something, anything, around him. His eyes were hooded and heavy and I was curious as to how he had made it to the diner at all. I continued to watch him and it was almost as if he could feel my eyes on him because once he scanned across the table where Emmett and I were seated, his gaze fixated on me. A sleazy grin immediately appeared on his face and he smoothed down his shirt, which had some sort of brown stain on it. _That'd be the J.D. and Coke, then…_

"Hey! Blondie!" He slurred out, attempting to waddle over to me, balancing himself by holding onto a table top.

"A friend of yours?" Emmett asked me, drawing my attention back to him. There was no jovial tone in his voice and he seemed genuinely put out by this dark-haired intruder.

"Certainly not," I responded, with a look of disgust on my face. "That's the guy from the club who made my night just that little bit shittier." That was all Emmett needed. He immediately rose from his seat and calmly made his way over to our uninvited guest. _What in the world is he doing?_

"You alright there, buddy?" He greeted, slapping the young man on his shoulder.

"I'm just saying hello to my new friend with the big boobs," the boy announced, far too loudly. "Tell him, Blondie!" he continued, staring straight past Emmett at me, governing the attention of everyone in the place, staff included.

"I don't think she wants to say hello to you," Emmett stated firmly, still not letting go of the young man's shoulder. That finally pulled his attention away from me, as he was now starting to become irate at Emmett's interference.

"Oh, yeah? What's it to you?" He snarled, pushing Emmett's giant hand off him. Jasper, who had been watching the whole thing unfold, decided it was time to get up from his table and join his friend. To my astonishment, Alice also got up and the three of them were now standing in front of the drunken buffoon. Bella, on the other hand, made no attempt to get up. Instead, she chose to cock her head in my direction and glare at me momentarily, before returning her attention to her food, not looking anywhere near as drunk as she did before. _What's her problem?_

"What's this, Blondie, your fan club?" He asked sarcastically, laughing at his own poor excuse for a joke.

"JACOB BLACK!"

A stern, female voice echoed around the diner and I was surprised to see the kind-faced, middle aged woman who had served Emmett earlier walking purposefully towards them all. "What have I told you about coming in here drunk? I've a good mind to tell your father!"

The so called Jacob Black didn't seem to care in the slightest that the woman had approached him. In fact, he looked almost thankful. "Aw, come on, Esme. I'm hungry! Just throw a couple o' burgers my way and I'll be outta your hair," he almost growled out, flashing what I'm sure he thought was a charming smile.

"Out!" The woman ordered with a scolding tone, pointing her finger at the door. Jacob's face fell slightly and he looked a bit hurt. He put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and began to stumble towards the door again, mumbling incoherently all the way before disappearing from sight.

The woman, Esme, sighed deeply and shook her head. "I'm sorry about that," she offered as an apology to all of us, turning and looking at me in particular. "He's not a bad kid. He just needs a bit of direction, that's all," she continued, speaking more to herself than anyone else as she shuffled around, picking up discarded plastic cutlery and cups. _Direction? He needs a good slap in the face_.

"Don't worry about it. I've heard a lot worse," I muttered, turning my attention back to my now cold fries. Her silence and stillness made me look up at her again and I found her looking at my work uniform. A knowing glint appeared in her eye and she smiled at me sweetly.

"Hmm, yes, I'm sure you have heard a lot worse. That doesn't make it okay, though."

With that, she scurried away, back to the kitchen, leaving me staring after her. Just as she left, Emmett plopped himself back down at the table and Alice came up behind me, slapping me between my shoulder blades. "No worries, Rhonda, we got your back!" She stated proudly, before prancing away again. My eyes narrowed and I wondered just how upset everyone would be if I picked her up and threw her out the window.

"You alright?" Emmett asked, snapping me from my thoughts

"Well, I could have done without your dwarf hitting me," I replied, the contempt clearly evident in my voice as I glared at Alice.

A small smile appeared on his perfect face as I met his gaze. "That's not what I meant." I couldn't help but notice that same look of concern on his face that I'd seen earlier.

I stared into his amazingly brown eyes and before I knew what was happening, I was speaking. "Why did you do that?"

The large man's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Do what?"

"That!" I exclaimed, gesturing with my hand. "I didn't ask you to get up and be all macho."

To my surprise, he actually laughed and folded his arms across his chest. "Come on, I can't be the first guy to get up and defend your honour?" he said, half questioning and still chortling. All I did was stare at him. I didn't know what to say. He actually _was_ the first person to do that. I cleared my throat.

"So, macho man, is there any chance of me getting home tonight?" I asked sarcastically, covering the uncomfortable feeling surging through me and regaining control of the conversation. It seemed to work as Emmett grinned that impish grin and shoved what remained of his burger into his mouth in one go.

"I'll rally the others and we can get going."

* * *

"It's just that house on the corner," Emmett informed me, pointing out the windshield as I finally made it to their neighbourhood. "Alice, you left the bedroom light on again," he sighed, not sounding annoyed. Or surprised.

"Sorry, Em," the tiny girl replied from the backseat, not sounding even remotely sorry.

I pulled up to the curb, put the handbrake on and waited (not so patiently) for everyone to get the hell out of my car. "Bye, Rhonda! Thanks for the ride!" Alice exclaimed, opening the door and getting out, carrying her lonely shoe. Bella piled out after her without saying a word. _You're welcome._ _Bitch…_

"Thank you; you really helped us out tonight," Jasper said, poking his head through the gap between the front seats. "I'm sure I'll see you again," he finished with a small smile. I nodded my head and gave him a tight lipped smile. I watched as Jasper followed the girls to the house and then Emmett and I were left alone in the car.

"We really do appreciate you giving us a ride. It was very kind of you," Emmett mumbled from the passenger seat, scratching the back of his head and looking suddenly nervous.

"Yeah, well…" I uttered in response, trailing off and starting to feel awkward.

"So, uh," he stumbled. "You wanna come in?"

I couldn't stop the laugh that erupted from me. I'd had enough crazy people for one night, thank you very much. "Absolutely not," I managed to get out after a moment. My outburst seemed to release the tension in the car, as Emmett's booming laughter filled the car too.

"I didn't think so, but you can't blame a guy for trying," he declared, still chuckling. After calming down, we both turned our heads and looked at each other. "You're going to be seeing a lot of me, by the way," he informed me, confidently. "I know where you work, after all."

"Yeah, I guess you do."

We sat in silence for a moment just staring at each other and I had to admit, it was probably the best moment of my whole night.

"I'll see you around, Rhonda," Emmett offered by way of a farewell, reaching for the door handle and moving to step out of the car, with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Hey, Emmett," I called out, waiting for him to turn and look at me once more. "If you call me Rhonda one more time, I'm going to set your hair on fire, okay?" I said, with a faux-innocent smile.

The large man in front of me beamed from ear to ear and I was reminded of why I was drawn to him in the first place. "You know what? I don't doubt that… Rosalie."

With that, he was gone and I was left alone in my car to reflect on the last couple of hours of my life. I let my head fall back against the headrest for a minute. _Pull yourself together, girl, _I scolded myself_. He's just another guy. Don't get attached._

After a deep breath, I turned the key in the ignition and pulled away from the curb, speeding off down the street.

_Never get attached..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delay!**

**I'd like to thank everyone who has read/reviewed/favourited etc. Your interest in my little story really means the world to me :)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

I lay in bed until nearly lunchtime the following day, staring at the ceiling and replaying every scene from the previous night over and over again in my mind. Although Emmett was in the forefront of my mind, I couldn't help but think about the others, too: Jasper, with his mysterious and oddly calming personality; Alice, with her squealing voice and missing shoe; and Bella, who had a face I just wanted to slap, to be honest.

Rolling my head to the side, I glanced at the clock beside my bed and saw it was 11:45am. _I_ _suppose I should get up_, I thought to myself, outwardly sighing. I was feeling very lazy and sluggish today and I absolutely blamed Emmett and his friends for it.

Trailing myself from my warm sheets, I headed for the bathroom and got under the hot mist of my shower, thinking it would help dispel any fleeting thoughts of last night.

It didn't; but it did make me feel more awake.

After pulling on some clean clothes, I sauntered out into the main living area of my large, open plan penthouse apartment. Anyone who knew what I did for a living would wonder how on earth I could afford to live in a place like this. The truth is, it was paid for with guilt money; damn near everything I owned was.

My father came to the conclusion when I was seventeen that he could make up for being absent my entire childhood by setting up a trust fund for me. Even after my mother died he was never a very hands-on parent, deciding instead to ship me off to a private (and expensive) boarding school. Most of my summers were spent in Europe watching him pretend that he wasn't fucking his secretary of the moment.

Needless to say, I don't work at the club out of necessity; I do it to stop myself from going insane. Call me what you will, but I am going to squeeze every cent I can out of that bastard until the day he dies.

As per usual, I was busying myself in the kitchen, scoffing down the last of my toast, when there was a knock at my front door. I glanced at the clock on the wall and a smirk spread across my face.

The mailman was here.

Hurrying to my hallway, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing blue hot pants and a white tank top, leaving very little to the imagination. I tousled my still-wet hair and pushed my breasts up just a little bit. _Perfect._

I swung my front door open to reveal the tall, dark and handsome man who had delivered my mail every day for the last several months. "Hello, there," I purred, leaning against the door frame seductively, just like I always did. I saw his green eyes rake all over my body, just like they always did, and I smirked.

"Rosalie," his deep voice rumbled. "You look radiant, as ever." The smarmy smile that always appeared on his face told me that he saw me as nothing more than a piece of ass, but I didn't care. It made me feel good – knowing that he found me attractive. "Just the newspaper today, beautiful," he informed me, handing it over.

"And you still came all the way up here to give it to me, Royce?" I smiled at him, tilting my head endearingly and flirting outrageously. "You're quite the gentleman, aren't you?"

"Only to the pretty ones." Royce replied, throwing in a wink for good measure. I knew he was full of shit but like I said, it made me feel good. The routine, the predictability, the superficiality of it all… it was easy. In a weird way, this back and forth with Royce was the longest relationship I'd ever had in my life. "See you tomorrow, beautiful," he promised. With one last sweeping look over my body, he ambled down the hall, disappearing from sight.

I slid back inside my apartment and closed the door, letting myself fall back against it. Something was wrong; something felt different. While still fun, the interaction with my sexy mailman just didn't leave me with the same feeling of elevated self-confidence it usually did. In fact, there was a completely different feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't quite place. Pushing off from the door, I flung the newspaper on the small table in my hall and willed my mind not to throw up images of a certain burly, brown eyed man who seemed to be affecting my life in ways I hadn't bargained for.

* * *

"…And then she tripped and fell flat on her face, it was hilarious! The best part of it was… are you even listening to me?"

My co-worker had obviously had enough of feeling like she was talking to herself and proceeded to poke me sharply in the ribs, causing me to wince and almost drop the three beers I was carrying towards the bar top. "Shit, Tanya, watch it" I barked out. "Are those finger nails or talons?" I muttered as an afterthought, very aware of the dull ache that now radiated through my right side. A self-satisfied smile appeared on her face and she held out one of her hands in front of her, admiring her perfectly manicured nails.

"They look great, don't they? I just got them done this afternoon."

"Oh, yeah, they're gorgeous," I droned, sounding both bored and sarcastic at the same time, as I took the twenty dollar bill from my customer. _What kind of a moron gets a manicure right before they come to work in a shithole like this?_ As I made my way to the cash register, I was very aware that Tanya was tailing me like a curious puppy.

A lot of the other staff didn't bother talking to me unless they had to, but for some reason Tanya had always made the effort to be civil to me, no matter what mood I was in. This sudden attempt to really talk to me, however, was out of the ordinary and it was a little disconcerting.

"So, what's going on with you today?" She asked, leaning against one of the fridges, her voice slightly higher than usual.

"What? Nothing," I responded, much too quickly, turning and giving the customer back his change.

"Rosalie," the platinum blonde sighed, exasperatedly. "We've been here for nearly two hours and you haven't given the evil eye to anyone_ or_ bitched about Felix once. What gives?" She finished, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Let me get this straight," I enunciated clearly. "You think there's something up with me because I'm not being a bitch?" I shot back, raising an eyebrow and folding my arms across my chest, defiantly.

"Well…" Tanya's eyes darted round the bar, as if trying to find something physical to help her answer the question. "Yeah, to be honest. Come on, tell your friend what's wrong."

Confusion made my eyebrows knit together. "Since when are we friends?" I questioned, disbelief clearly evident in my voice.

"Since I decided about thirty seconds ago," she replied, without missing a beat.

I rolled my eyes and turned to walk away in the opposite direction. "Go away, Tanya."

"Fine," I heard her breathe out, almost in defeat. The tone of her voice made me turn and face her again, my arms lowering to my sides. We had never had a conversation like this before. "You _can_ talk to me, you know," she told me, sincerely. Before I could reply, she cocked her head, indicating the space behind me. "You have a customer."

With that, she glided her way to the other side of the bar and left me staring after her. _Well, that was weird…_

Remembering the customer she mentioned I swung round and came face to face with a familiar dark-haired, caramel-skinned young man, whose presence I had become all too familiar with the previous night.

_Oh, you've got to be kidding me._

It was somewhat satisfying to see the look of fear and extreme sheepishness that coloured his features. Only somewhat, mind you. _Maybe I can have some fun with this_, I thought to myself, slightly sadistically. After all, apparently I hadn't been anywhere near bitchy enough today. I moved to stand in front of him and slowly leaned forward, resting my hands on the bar top that separated us, my eyes holding an icy stare. I had to supress a smirk when I all but heard him gulp in nervousness.

"Can I… I mean, I would like to apologise for the way I treated you," he finally spluttered out. Instead of being a decent person and being receptive to his idiotic display, I simply raised an eyebrow at him. _You're going to have to work for my forgiveness, ass face_. "Ok, um… well, first of all, my name is–"

"Jacob Black," I interrupted rudely, speaking for the first time.

His eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before realisation dawned on him; or perhaps an unpleasant memory. "Oh, right, yeah, you already know that," he mumbled, raising a hand and rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Look, I really am sorry," he suddenly blurted out, obviously deciding to take the direct approach now. "The way I spoke to you last night was way out of line. And I don't just mean while I was in here. I turn into an idiot when I've had a few too many," he rushed out, now gesturing with his hands. "I never meant to insult you or hurt your feelings or... you know..." he finally finished, trailing off.

Silence.

"Are you done?" I questioned, without a single trace of forgiveness in my voice.

Jacob's mouth fell open slightly, almost as if he was shocked that I hadn't accepted his ridiculous excuse for an apology. "I-I guess I am, yeah."

The more I stared at this boy, the more I noticed just how handsome he was. Take away the alcohol, the sweat and the stained shirt and you were left with a good looking, innocent young man_. A little too innocent…_

I tilted my head to the side, still leaning against the bar. "You want a drink?" I asked in a nonchalant way.

Instantly, I saw Jacob's body stiffen, although he tried to hide it. He cleared his throat and began speaking in a hushed voice. "No, I shouldn't. I'm–"

"Then, I'll see you around, Jacob Black," I interrupted, yet again, before pushing off the bar top and walking away.

"Wait!" he called after me, making me turn in his direction once more. "So, are we cool?"

I smirked and sashayed towards him again, leaning very deliberately forward over the bar so my cleavage was on display "What do you think?" I whispered. His eyes were instantly drawn to my chest and I could see him gulp again.

"I… I, umm..."

Unable to keep my smirk in check, I leaned even further forward until I reached his ear.

"Go home, Jakey Boy," I whispered. "You wouldn't want one of the _grown-ups _to think you had a hangover, now, would you?" When I pulled back, the blush that slowly spread across his cheeks was enough to confirm my suspicions. This little shit wasn't even twenty-one. I suddenly felt annoyed with myself for not spotting it last night.

He slowly backed away and tried to hide the redness of his face by looking at floor. He mumbled something that I didn't quite catch and began shuffling towards the main door. I let a quiet laugh escape me when I saw his tall form disappear outside.

_That was fun._

The rest of my shift, however, was not. As the night wore on, the club got busier and busier; nothing we couldn't handle, but still enough to piss everyone off. Well, enough to piss me off, anyway. My highlight came in the form of an inebriated redhead who fell off her bar stool right in front of me, flung her legs in the air and made it abundantly clear that she wasn't wearing any underwear.

Although Tanya didn't attempt to engage me in conversation again, I was aware of her keeping an eye on me all night. At one point, she even swooped in to the rescue when it looked like I was going to lose my temper with an annoying patron. I was very thankful that she did, although I didn't dream of telling her that. She might think we were friends.

I was on auto-pilot as I cleaned up at the end of the night, after the door staff had ushered the stragglers out of the bar. All I could smell was stale beer and the foul stench coming from the blocked drain; I wanted nothing more than to get home and have a long, hot shower.

As I made my way to the staff lockers when my night was finally over, I spotted several items of clothing people had left behind in their drunken stupors: a hat, a rather nice red jacket and a black jumper. I lifted them all and made my way to the lost property cupboard, on the off chance that someone would come back to look for them.

As I opened the cupboard door, I couldn't supress the laugh that erupted from me, causing several of my co-workers to look at me like I was insane. There, staring back at me, was a very familiar and lonely looking silver stiletto heel.

* * *

The next day was a rare day off for me and I had spent most of my morning trying to decide whether or not to return the shoe I had found to its rightful owner. I contemplated calling Emmett to tell him I had it but then realised I didn't have his number; or any other contact information, for that matter. All I had was his address.

With my decision made, there I was, safely sitting in my car about twenty yards away from their house – just in case one of them happened to look out the window. Nearly fifteen minutes had passed and I still hadn't moved a muscle.

_This is retarded, just drop off the shoe and go home again. It's just a fucking shoe._

Exhaling deeply, I finally opened the car door and stepped outside, grabbing the bag that held Alice's shoe in the process. There was a chill in the air as I walked towards the house and I pulled the collar of my coat up in an attempt to shield myself from the cold. Somehow, the neighbourhood looked different in the daylight; more homely.

I rapped on the front door and didn't have to wait long before it swung open to reveal a lean, sandy-haired man who smiled sincerely when he recognised me.

"Rosalie," Jasper acknowledged, cheerfully. "What a nice surprise, come on in." I was ushered inside and he indicated for me to go into what appeared to be the living room. "If you're looking for Emmett you just missed him. He left for work about twenty minutes ago," he informed me. That piece of information sent a jolt of disappointment through me but I didn't let it show.

"Actually, I'm here to see Alice," I said, as I sat myself down on the leather sofa without invitation. The room was sparsely decorated and there was a state of the art games console attached to the large, widescreen television. Adding that to the dirty glasses and the empty pizza box on the coffee table, it was obvious that this was very much a boys' living room.

"Did I hear my name?" A tinkling voice asked and Alice suddenly appeared beside Jasper, taking his hand. "Oh, hey!" She exclaimed when she recognised me, rushing into the room and flopping herself down on the couch beside me. I was actually quite surprised that she did recognise me, considering the state she was in the night we met.

"Hi," I greeted, not nearly as maniacally as she had; although, I did manage a tight-lipped smile. "Here," I said, handing the bag to her quickly. "I think you've been looking for this." When she peered inside, I could literally see the euphoria in her eyes.

"My shoe!" She squealed out. "You found my shoe! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Before I knew what was happening, she flung herself at me and I was enveloped in an alarmingly tight hug. I glanced towards Jasper and he looked like he was trying to supress a laugh.

"Let the woman breathe, Ali," he said quietly to his tiny girlfriend, with a smile on his face. She pulled back almost immediately and looked a bit sheepish.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I just really love these shoes; they're my favourite pair."

I started to feel a bit awkward and I was beginning to wish I had just left the shoe at the front door and left. "Well, you're welcome."

"Alice! Did you hide all my plaid shirts again?" A voice shouted from down the hall, getting gradually closer. "I know you don't like them but that doesn't give you the right to–"

Bella stopped dead in her tracks when she reached the door of the living room and saw me sitting on the couch. Her face fell slightly and she was eyeing me, cautiously. My mind instantly flashed back to the odd looks she had given me in the diner a couple of nights ago, and I could feel the tell-tale signs of my anger starting to bubble up. There was a moment of silence before the brunette finally spoke. "Oh, hello," she said, curtly.

The only acknowledgement she got from me was a slight nod, indicating that I had heard her. All my energy was going into not making eye contact. When I was angry, eye contact never ended well…

"Rosalie found my shoe, Bells, look!" Alice squealed, waving her stiletto in the air. Hearing Alice refer to me as 'Rosalie' pleasantly surprised me. I think Emmett must have put a stop to the whole 'Rhonda' fiasco fairly quickly.

"That's great, Ali," Bella replied, trying her best to look happy for her tiny friend before she disappeared from sight, slinking away down the hall again.

There was a pregnant pause and I noticed a confused and almost concerned look on Alice's face. "Excuse me for a second," she announced politely, before prancing away, presumably after Bella.

For the first time, Jasper seemed to be slightly nervous but he covered it well. He ran his fingers through his sandy coloured hair and sat himself down on the arm of the adjacent couch. "Pay no attention to Bella. She's just…" He paused, obviously trying to find the right words. "She's wary of strangers," he finally settled on. _Wary of strangers, huh? Seems like more than that to me._

"Mmm," I hummed noncommittally, while pretending to study the lack of décor in the room. Sensing my disinterest in the current topic of conversation, Jasper quickly changed the subject.

"So," he began. "Is that the only reason you came over? To drop off my girlfriend's shoe?" He questioned with a knowing smile.

_No..._

"Actually, yes," I lied. "I found it when I finished work last night and thought I should do the honourable thing."

Jasper's smile only got bigger and he seemed to be studying me, much like one would study a painting – looking for purpose, emotion… flaws?

"Well, I think this has been sufficiently awkward," I quipped after another moment of silence, starting to feel slightly uneasy as I stood up from the couch. "I really should be going, anyway. I have a busy day." _Another lie…_

His watery blue eyes followed me as I made my way towards the door, before he nodded and got up, escorting me the rest of the way. "I'll tell Emmett you stopped by."

_And let him think that I came here looking for him? That I want to see him? Fuck that!_ "Oh, that's not necessary," I said, sounding as flippant as possible. "Like I said, I just came to see Alice."

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "Of course you did," he agreed in a polite, yet oddly patronising voice. When we both got outside, I heard him speak again. "You know I'm going to tell him you were here anyway, right?" He clarified. I was starting to realise just how observant the young man before me was. I always thought I had a talent for reading people, but this guy was in a different league.

I shrugged my shoulders, feigning indifference. "Whatever."

Our conversation was interrupted by a loud, repeated banging noise, causing me to frown and look around me. My eyebrows shot up when I caught sight of Alice's beaming face at one of the windows, waving frantically at me. "Bye, Rosalie! Thanks for bringing my shoe back!" She yelled through the glass, holding up the shoe and giving me a thumbs up. As much as I tried not too, I couldn't help but smile at her. She was like a five year old trapped in an adult body.

I shook my head. "I'll see you around, Jasper," I said in farewell, before turning on my heel and not looking back.

After I had slammed the car door and got comfortable in my leather interior, I became aware that my heart was hammering in my chest. I took a moment and leaned back in my seat, taking deep breaths. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ I sat there in my car for several minutes, trying to make sense of the feelings of disappointment that were clouding my brain. Did I wish Emmett had been there? Yes. Did I know what that meant? No.

Sighing dramatically, I put my car in drive and sped off down the familiar street for the second time in as many days, still not understanding what Emmett had done to me.


End file.
